Nolte's pose at the end (spoiler)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Cape Fear
jeff1to1618 — 9 years ago(December 23, 2016 07:22 AM)
Maybe this is obvious and it seems probably biblical, but is there something with Nolte's position at the end, with his hands down at his thighs, head down at the edge if the water? Seemed very much like it was on purpose.
Maybe this was in Job. Or maybe its a church pose representing submittion or something.
Great film. This finally got me interested in Scorcese. -
TheManInOil — 9 years ago(January 02, 2017 06:38 PM)
It's apish. Also the way his wife and daughter embrace, and when he joins them how they are posed, is designed to be anamilistic.
One of the great problems with the film imo is that it has muddied themes. Cady talks about reducing him to an animal level, and he mentions making them 'the same' (i.e., savage, having nothing left to lose) but this conflicts with the religious points it seems to be exploring as well as the ideas about testing the family's strength, and the lawyer's conviction in the law. It's all blended together so that there's no clear message imo.
However, that pose is very clearly part of their final confrontation's animal nature.